Friends With Benefits
by madHATTERo0
Summary: [chapter eight: conclusions part two] The mood! You’re totally screwing it up! The perfect moment could have been ten seconds ago, but you had to go and make it an unperfect moment! [naruino] and a dash of [kibahina]
1. Complications

**Disclaimer: **Since it's like, legally required and all that crap: I don't own _Naruto_. 

**Friends With Benefits**

**Chapter One**

**Complications**

Their relationship had always been an unconventional one. In their academy days, he'd known her only as 'the girl who always fought with Sakura-chan over Sasuake-teme.' Other than the one time he'd contemplated becoming friends with her in order to get closer to Sakura--a plan which would of worked fantastically had the two not become eternal rivals for Sasuke's heart the very next day--he'd never even thought of talking to her. She would never have noticed him at all if he hadn't insisted on always making a spectacle of himself. Even then, she only indentified him as 'the kid that Iruka-sensei is always yelling at.'

As genin, they were on seperate teams so they rarely even saw one another, and when they did, they would both offer a casual greeting before continuing with whatever it was that they were doing at the time.

Then, of course, he'd left for two years to train with one of the Sannin so they never even had the oppurtunity to glimpse each other in passing. When he finally returned, she had attended the small welcome home bash that Sakura had thrown for him and they had spoken for a few minutes. She'd politely asked how his training hand went. He'd replied that he'd learned a great deal, he'd even prefected his cloaking skills thanks to peeking so often at the many women's baths that he and Jairaiya had visited during their journey. She'd floored him with a solid right hook square on the nose. He'd laughed uproarously at her fuming face while trying to stem the blood flow.

After that, their relationship had slowly begun to evolve from being acquaintances to being almost-friends. Every now and then, they'd be assigned together on a mission, and after they'd returned to turn in their mission reports, they'd go grab something to eat--usually at _Ichiraku_, much to her chagrin. When they passed each other on the street, they'd stop and have a short conversation. Sometimes they'd even seek each other out, though they usually wouldn't admit to it. He'd visit her family's flower shop on the pretense of needing her advice on how to care for a new plant and she'd show up at his uasual training ground saying that she needed to work on her taijutsu.

It had gotten to the point where Sakura had taken to teasing Ino about her and Naruto's relationship. The teasing wouldn't have been so bad if Sakura's not-so-subtle insinuations that there was something more going on between them behind the scenes hadn't led Ino to wonder just what they were at that point. It irked her to no end that she couldn't pinpoint a proper word with which to label their relationship. By then, they were definitely friends--granted they were friends who bickered constantly, but they were both very argumentative people who insisted on getting in the last word, so arguments were to be expected--but was there something more there lurking beneath the surface?

Before Ino could answer that question, Sasuke returned to Konoha. That in itself would have been a big enough speed bump to stop their relationship--whatever kind it may have been--in its tracks, but there was the matter of Orochimaru and of course the Akatsuki had to be delt with as well. Whatever had been there before sizzled down to a strictly platonic friendship as Ino took to chasing after Sasuke once again and Naruto found himself preoccupied with nuke-nin that wanted him dead.

The next major development in their relationship took place when Sasuke and Sakura started dating. Both found themselves pining for another that would never return their affections. With Ssuke and Sakura together, they could no longer delude themselves into thinking that one day they might have a chance. So they sought comfort from each other. At first they had just ranted about the unfairness of it all, but the more they dwelled on what they'd lost, the more they needed physical comfort, and who better to recieve said comfort from than someone who was in the same boat as you?

After all, that way there were no messy emotions, no other connection than a mutual need of comfort and fulfillment of lust. They didn't have to explain anything to each other; they barely even needed to speak at all. They could meet up at his apartment or hers--where they could hug and kiss and caress until the feeling of lonliness began to ebb away for a little while--and when they saw one another the next day, there were no embarassed blushes, no awkward silences.

They had become friends with benefits, and they were both perfectly fine with being such, content to lust without love because they'd both come to agree that a ninja had no place in his or her life to love in the first place--it was best to just quench their desires and leave love to those who could afford to have such distractions in their lives.

But that pesky something that had been there before--that emotion, whatever it was--was slowly beginning to wriggle its way back into their relationship, determined to complicate their happy arrangement and force them to face that there was something more there, that they had only to label it for themselves and admit it to the other. Unfortunately, neither of them was willing to admit such things freely anymore, and that only compicated things more.

**A/N: I think this is going to be about four chapters long. I already have most of it written down in my notebook, I just need to unscarmble it all and put it in coherent form. Please review and tell me what you think so far!**

**-mH  
**


	2. Casual Sex

**Disclaimer:** I don't own _Naruto_. Surprise, surprise. 

**Friends With Benefits**

**Chapter Two**

**Casual Sex**

It had all started when Naruto claimed that his Sexy no Jutsu form was sexier than Ino. They had been drinking at a local bar for about an hour at that point. Naruto's comment had spurned a rant from Ino with all her major points emphasized by various punches and kicks to his person. Needless to say, they very soon found themselves out on the street with an angry bartender yelling after them. Laughing heartily, Naruto slipped an arm around Ino's waist as she swayed uncertainly on her feet and began leading her down the street to his apartment.

"This ish all yer fault..." Ino slurred, leaning against him heavily as the ground lurched threateningly beneath her.

"Huh. And here I was thinkin' that it was your violent behavior back there that got us thrown out," Naruto retorted with a smirk. By then, Ino was too drunk to have noticed whether or not her drinking partner was as inhibited as she was, so he'd dropped his usual druken act. It was physically impossible for him to get drunk thanks to Kyuubi, but others didn't need to know that.

Most of the time, Naruto cursed Kyuubi for keeping him from getting lost in an alcoholic haze--too drunk to remember who he even was, much less what he was trying to forget in the first place--and refusing him the few hours of solace that his sanity so desperately needed. But at times like this, he would reluctantly thank Kyuubi for breaking down his sake into a foul tasting liquid that was as harmful as water. Because at times like this when Ino was too drunk to even stand properly without support, they had some of their most heated and interesting make-out sessions. It turned out that Ino was very kinky when drunk, and Naruto loved every minute of it, especially since Ino very rarely remembered these types of encounters. If she had any idea just what she was likely to do when drunk, he had no doubt that Ino would decide that her newest diet demanded that she not drink alcohol.

"I wouldna got violent if you hadna said I wasn seshy," she grumbled back.

"I didn't say that you weren't sexy. I just said that Naruko-chan is sexier. You're still sexy, just not the sexiest," he corrected, picking her up bridal style when they reached his apartment complex, having opted to carry her up the steps instead of trying to drag her up them.

Ino snorted and let her head fall against his chest. "There'sa differens 'tween bein' seshy an' bein' slutty. Jus' cause Naruko-chan ish always poppin' up nekkid, that doesn mean she's seshier. I look way seshier than 'er nekkid."

"Do you?" Naruto asked, truly curious. The furthest they'd ever actually gone was some very intense making out and groping. He'd never seen her naked before, though she'd shed her top a few times while drunk. Neither of them had been bold enough to go any further than that with a friend, even considering the odd circumstances of their friendship.

Ino nodded as he set her down on the floor just inside his aparemtnet to slip off his sandals. Seeing her clumsily struggling to remove her own, he bent down to help her with a snicker. He picked her back up and carried her into the apartment, setting her down on the couch. He began kicking the various scrolls and empty ramen cups on the floor into a pile in the corner of the room while pickiing up random articles of clothing that were strewn across the furniture. Walking into his bathroom, he tossed the clothes into the hamper and made his way back to the small living room only to stop dead in his tracks.

Ino was kneeling on the couch, her clothes in a small pile on the floor. "Well?" she asked, tugging off her hair tie and letting her hair fall down around her shoulders. "Who'sh seshier now?"

Naruto had never known that a slurred vioce could sound so seductive.

He didn't answer but practically ran to the couch, pushing her down against the cushions and falling on top of her to mash his mouth down onto hers hungrily. She moaned wantonly and any last shred of self-control that Naruto may have still possessed dissolved as his instincts took over.

* * *

Now Naruto found himself awakening in his twin-sized bed feeling much more cramped than he usually did. It was not unpleasent, he decided groggily, just odd. It became even more odd when he felt something shift against him and groan. He hesitantly opened one eye to squint at his new bedmate before quickly shutting it again and rubbing at his face furiously to wake himself up. He looked again and yes, there was still a head of pale blonde hair lying across his chest. He brought his hand back up to his face and smacked himself on the forehead.

_Baka baka baka,_ he admonished himself, _What the hell is wrong with you? What were you _thinking_? Actually, why were you not even _bothering_ the think? Alright, calm down. Maybe it isn't what you think it is. Maybe...you were both just really sleepy._

Ino moved again, rolling over to drape her body fully over his. Naruto's face flushed a hot shade fuschia as he felt the bare skin against skin. _Or maybe it really is what you think it is._

He gulped and attempted to extracate himself from under her, but she had both arms wrapped around his torso, keeping them pressed together tightly. Naruto felt her head turn as she yawned sleepily, beginning to stir. And then suddenly, blue met blue as they stared at one another--Naruto fearfully and Ino confusedly.

"What the hell are you doing in my bed, Naruto?" she asked angrily once she'd finally taken in enough of the situation to comment on it. Her whole body ached, her head worst of all. It felt like her brain was pounding against her skull and trying to think coherently to piece together her current situation was only making it pound more painfully.

Naruto laughed uneasily and replied, "Actually, we're in my bed."

Ino blinked and turned her head to take in her surroundings. When her eyes fell on the window next to the bed, she was certain that it indeed wasn't her room since her curtains were lavendar, not gray. Of course, looking at the window meant that she'd moved her head directly into the sole slant of early morning sunlight that fell through the small gap in the curtains, and she now had her eyes screwed shut against the bright light, her head feeling like it was about to split in two.

It was a few minutes before the pounding had subsided enough for her to risk opening her eyes again, and when she did she wished she'd have just left them closed. The first thing her gaze fell on this time were their chests, which were still pressed together and very naked. She yelped loudly and immediately regretted it as the sound sent her brain bashing against her skull again. Clutching her head in her hands, she rolled over and groaned.

Naruto, finally free, scrambled up and quickly slipped on some pants before hurrying to his kitchen to grab the pills that he'd gotten from Tsunade for just such occasions. Ino could hold her liquor well and keep up with him for quite a while, but that also meant that her hangovers were killer. He'd learned after the first time he'd let her crash at his apartment after a night of alcohol binging and woken up to the sounds of her barfing in his bathroom to always keep some medicine around for her.

Coming back into his room, he handed her the pills and a glass of water. She quickly downed both and curled up under the bedsheets to wait for the medicine to take effect.

"What the hell happened?" she asked eventually, her voice much calmer and quieter than Naruto had expected it to be.

"Er, well, I think we might've...you know," Naruto explained, scratching the back of his head uncertainly.

"Yeah," Ino mumbled. She slowly sat up, wrapping a sheet securely around her shoulders.

"So..." Naruto began anxiously, "What do we, you know, do now?"

"Nothing," she replied, standing up and walking out of the room to find and collect her clothes. "We were drunk. And lonely. It was just...casual sex."

"Sex between friends?" he asked incredulously as he followed her into the living room.

"Yes, _casual_ sex between friends," she answered with a note of finality.

And that was the end of the discussion. They merely expanded their definition of benefits to include casual sex and things stayed the same as they had been before the incident. At least they did until a month later when Sakura informed Ino that no, her continual nausea over the last week was not caused by food poisoning that refused to go away but by pregnancy. And so the first complication in their simple friends-with-benefits relationship arose.

**A/N: Dun dun dun. I'm not sure when I'll have the next chapter up, but hopefully it'll be before the end of the week. If you review, though, I'll be more inclined to update. -wink wink- Thanks to KennyW for reviewing!**

**-mH**


	3. Consequences

**Disclaimer:** I do not own _Naruto_. Everytime I have to admit it, I shed another tear. 

**Friends With Benefits**

**Chapter Three**

**Consequences**

"What the hell do you mean, I'm pregnant?" Ino shouted, shooting up from her chair and slamming her fists down against the table. She and Sakura were in the kitchen of Ino's small apartment, Ino having invited Sakura over in order to consult her about the nausea problem.

"Well, you see, Ino," Sakura drawled, cup of tea in hand and looking as calm and bored as could be, "When things between a man and a woman start to get hot and heavy, it tends to lead to a thing called sexual intercourse--"

"I don't need to hear your twisted version of the birds and the bees, Forehead Girl," Ino snapped as she began pacing the length of her kitchen. She soon stopped to lean against the counter though when her stomach began threatening to push her breakfast back up.

Sakura's eyes narrowed and she hissed back, "Then you should have kept your legs closed, Ino-Pig." Ino's head whipped around to face Sakura to glare viciously at her. Sakura noticed that there were tears brimming at the edges of the slitted blue eyes and mumbled abashedly, "Sorry, that was totally uncalled for."

Ino didn't respond. All her anger disappeared and she seemed to deflate, all her anger-induced energy draining rapidly as she fell back into her chair and dropped her head into her hands. At length, she whispered, "Holy fuck."

"Was it really that good?" Sakura questioned with a smirk. Ino sent her a half-hearted glare between her splayed fingers and Sakura sighed, "Right, no point in trying to lighten the mood. So, when are you going to tell Naruto?"

"Tell Naruto what?" Ino grumbled, her face still covered by her hands.

"That you're pregnant," Sakura replied matter-of-factly.

"Why the hell would I tell _him_?" Ino asked indignantly.

Sakura sighed in annoyance. "Oh, I don't know. Maybe because it's _his_."

Ino's head snapped up as she exclaimed, "What? So you just automatically assume that if I'm knocked up, it had to have been Naruto?"

"Well, who else's would it be?" she barked back.

Ino flung her head down onto the table as she wailed, "Naruto and I are just friends!"

"Really? Then whose is it?" Sakura badgered, resting her chin in her propped-up palm.

Ino raised her head up slowly and stated gravely, "It's Sasuke's."

"W-what?" Sakura squeaked as all the blood drained from her face in an instant to leave her deathly pale. Inner Sakura was just about to make an apearance when Sakura suddenly chuckled and picked her cup back up to take a sip of tea. "Oho, so it _is_ Naruto's."

Ino huffed and puffed and made her way angrily out of the kitchen, stopping briefly at the door to slip on her sandals. She ripped the door open and let it bang against the adjacent wall, not bothering to wait and close it.

"Oy," Sakura yelled after her from her same spot at the table, "Don't go off on another one of your drinking binges! Alcohol is bad for the baby!"

* * *

Ino walked forlornly through the streets, her eyes trailing from one bar to the next as she forced her feet to keep shuffling past. 

_Alcohol is bad for the baby..._

Ino shuddered as Sakura's words reverberated in her head. Being pregnant meant no alcohol. Ino mentally wailed and tugged at the ends of her hair.

"It's not fair," she whined as she passed yet another bar, sounds of happy customers drifting through the open door. "If it weren't for this baby, I could drink to my heart's content. If it weren't for Naruto, I wouldn't even be pregnant."

Her feet came to a sudden halt and Ino looked up to find herself in front of the very bar she and Naruto had visited the night of The Incident.

Ino sighed and muttered reluctantly, "And if it weren't for the alcohol, we'd have never gotten drunk and had sex in the first place..."

She continued her walk, this time with her eyes glued firmly to her feet as she dragged them along. Her stomach growled and she had the strange urge to stop by the grocer's and pick up chocolate ice cream, pickles, and peanut butter.

Unwillingly, her thoughts drifted back to The Incident. She must have been totally tanked, since even after her hangover had faded and she'd rested and had a hot bath, she still couldn't remember what had happened. Except for one thing. Two days after The Incident, something that Naruto had said that night managed to penetrate the alcohol-induced amnesia.

_I love you, Ino._

They hadn't actually had to face each other in a private setting since The Incident as Naruto had been gone for the past few weeks on a mission, so Ino had yet to confront him after recovering that particular memory. But Naruto was supposed to be back any day now, and now she not only had to deal with what he'd said, but she also had to tell him that she was pregnant. Such were the consequences of unrestrained drinking.

"From this day forward, I am never going to drink again," she declared to her dark blue painted toes.

"How come? Wake up with another killer hangover this morning?" a cheery voice questioned from somewhere in front of her.

Ino's eyes widened as her head jerked up to find the one person she least wanted to see at that particular moment smiling broadly as he made his way towards her. "N-Naruto," she stuttered, her voice coming out as a mousy squeak, "You're b-back..."

"Eh? What's wrong Ino? You feeling alright?" Naruto questioned her worriedly, placing a large hand on her forehead to check her temperature.

"I-I'm fine," she muttered, turning her head away from him to dislodge his hand and hide her sudden blush.

Naruto frowned and stated, "No you're not. Tell me what's wrong."

Ino shook her head and tried to sidestep him, but he quickly moved to block her from walking away. Naruto was seriously worried about her; Ino never acted like, well, like Hinata. Why was she suddenly stuttering and blushing and looking away from him?

"Ino, tell me," he demanded quietly, attempting to catch her elusive eyes.

Ino bit her lip and tried to get past him again. _Why him?_ she thought frantically. _Why did I have to run into Naruto? Why did it have to be right now?_ Naruto caught hold of her shoulders and held her still, bending down so that they were eye-to-eye. Ino squeezed her eyes shut and shouted, "What the hell do you care!"

She tried to shrug off his hands, but, much to her chagrin, his hold on her arms had tightened instead of loosening as she had hoped. "What are you talking about? Why wouldn't I care?" Naruto asked earnestly.

Ino just shook her head and tried to push him away. He wouldn't budge. Ino felt like crying. This was too much for her to handle. This all had to be some kind of nightmare. It couldn't really be happening to her.

Naruto's arms dropped back by his sides as he whispered beseechingly, "Please Ino. Tell me what's wrong. I just wanna help."

Ino quickly retreated three steps, keeping her eyes on her feet. "Ino..."

"I'm pregnant, you idiot!" she screeched before she turned and bolted around the first corner she came to, leaving Naruto staring after her completely dumbfounded.

**A/N: Yeah, so it's a bit late. Oh well. Anyway, thanks oodles for all the reviews! They were all so lovely! I'm not sure when the next chapter will be up. I only have a very basic outline of it written down. So until then, ciao!**

**-mH**

**P.S. Reviews are my main inspiration, so every review I read will help ideas form. A review a day keeps the writer's block away, ne?**


	4. Labels

**Disclaimer:** If I owned _Naruto_, NaruIno would be canon. Sadly, NaruIno isn't canon, they like _never _even interact with each other, and I don't own _Naruto_. 

**Friends With Benefits**

**Chapter Four**

**Labels**

Naruto stood motionless in the middle of the street, completely oblivious to the crowd milling around him and the odd glances said crowd was directing his way. His brain was far too busy trying to wrap itself around what had just happened to worry about operating basic motor skills.

_She's pregnant. Ino's pregnant. Why did she just yell at me? It's not like it's--holy shit. _Is_ it mine? Did Ino get pregnant when we--? Kami-sama. Does that mean that I'm gonna be a...father?_

When that particular thought occured to him, a goofy grin spread across his face. If it really was his, then Naruto would finally have a family--a real family with a flesh and blood child of his own.

But then another thought surfaced to the forefront of his mind. They were only twenty. Ino had told him plenty of times before that she wanted to wait at least five more years before even thinking about settling down. What if she wanted to...abort the pregnancy?

All the color drained from Naruto's face and his blood ran cold. A drop of water hit his nose just as a roll of thunder rumbled overhead. Not a minute later, the street was empty save Naruto as rain began to pour down heavily. Naruto didn't notice. He clenched his fists and ordered his legs to _move_; he needed to find Ino _now _. His first step was shaky, but he forced his body to spring into action and soon he was flying down the streets of Konoha, not bothering to slow his pace to peek inside Ino's usual haunts but just throwing out his senses to pick up her chakra signature.

As he became accustomed to the frantic pace, his mind started to swirl with dangerous thoughts again.

Was Ino really planning to get an abortion? Abortions were actually encouraged among young kunoichi since active shinobi were already limited as it was. Their bodies were too trim to even carry a baby full term usually. Most kunoichi who did give birth successfully had serious health problems afterwards. Kunoichi weren't meant to provide offspring; they were meant to be a tool of their village and to protect said village. But if Ino was planning on having an abortion, then why tell him she was pregnant at all? Wouldn't it have been easier if he didn't know? Though, maybe she was scared and didn't want to go through it alone.

Naruto stopped abruptly as he found himself on the doorstep of Ino's apartment, her familiar chakra pulsing on the other side of the door. He shivered lightly, finally taking notice of his rain-drenched state as he stood there panting, his breath condensing into smokey puffs. He raised his arm and prepared himself to knock. His hand was shaking. Curling it into a fist, he let it fall heavily against the wooden door.

* * *

Ino made it to her apartment just as the rain started to fall. Her vision was blurry with tears and her hands were shaking. It took her three tries to get her key into the lock. She stumbled into her apartment and clumsily toed off her sandals. She took one step into the hall before her knees gave way and she fell against the wall, sliding down it as she pulled her knees into her chest and let her head fall against her knees. She felt numb and scared. 

A heavy thud sounded on the other side of her door. Jerking her head up, she slowly climbed to her feet and took a swipe at her finally dry eyes before opening the door. She had a brief glance of a drenched and anxious Naruto before she was engulfed in a suffocating embrace and her eyes welled up with tears again.

_Why do I keep breaking down, damn it? I'm stronger than this!_ she thought. Nevertheless, she wrapped her arms around Naruto, her fingers digging into the fabric of his jacket.

They stood there like that--holding onto each other desperately with the door still open, letting the wet, cold air drift in--for an incalculable time. When Ino finally took notice of how they were both shivering from the cold, she pulled back with a watery smile, "You're freezing," she whispered.

"Ah, sorry. I got you all wet," Naruto apologized, a hand going to the back of his head as he normally did when nervous. Ino shook her head and reached around him to push the door closed. She hooked her fingers into a pocket of his jacket and pulled him down the hall after her, him stumbling as he tried to kick off his sandals and keep his balance as she yanked him foward at the same time.

When they reached her small living room, her arm dropped back to her side. She left him standing there while she disappeared down the hall, coming back with a towel wrapped around her shoulders and one held out for him. Accepting the towel with a mumbled "Thank you," he threw it over his head and began scrubbing at his dripping hair furiously.

Ino sank down onto the couch and Naruto leaned back against the wall acorss from her.

"Is--is there anything I can, you know, do for you...or something?" he asked nervously, his face hidden behind the fluffy blue towel.

"I don't know," she sighed exhaustedly.

"What are you going to do?"

"I don't know."

"Are you--" Naruto gulped and had to force his voice past the lump in his throat, "Are you going to have an...abortion?"

Ino didn't respond. The soft pitter-patter of the rain on the window filled the room and made Naruto feel on edge.

"What other option do I have?" Ino choked out. She cleared her throat and continued, "Even if I decide to have the baby, how the hell am I supposed to raise it by myself?"

Naruto tore the towel off his head, exclaiming earnestly, "I could--I mean we could--"

Ino looked up at him, her lips curving upwards in a sad smile while her eyes shone with the remnants of tears. "I appreciate the gesture, but you're no more ready for this than I am. And I wouldn't want to force you into some kind of committment. I mean, at best we're just friends with benefits. We haven't even been friends all that long."

"We're more than that!" Naruto shouted. Ino squashed the urge to jump at the outburst and stared at him wide-eyed. His head was tilted, his bangs shadowing his eyes and masking his expression. "At least," he continued in a mutter, "I think we are..."

"What do you--"

"I can't get drunk, Ino," Naruto cut in curtly, lifting his head to lock his eyes with hers. "It's physically impossible. Alcohol is like a toxin, you know?"

* * *

Flashback

* * *

"Tell me!" Ino growled menacingly, her fist balled around the collar of Naruto's eye-sore of a jacket. 

"It's none of your fucking business!" he snarled back, grabbing her wrist and wrenching it away from his collar.

Ino stumbled back and Naruto hoped that his sudden flare-up would shock her into dropping the subject. She blinked a couple of times before her stormy grey-blue eyes narrowed dangerously. She raised her hands and ran through a set of seals before shouting, "Shinranshin no Jutsu!"

"I'm not going to release you until you tell me what the hell was up with those villagers!" she hissed, balling her fists and setting them on her hips stubbornly.

Naruto tried to get his legs to move, but they weren't responding to his brain's orders. His hand suddenly moved of its own accord, and his fist slammed into his crotch painfully. "Aw fuck!" he whimpered, biting the inside of his cheek when his eyes started to tear up.

"Spill," Ino demanded as she jutted her hips to one side.

"Curiosity killed the cat, you know," he grumbled, his eyes closed while he tried to concentrate on breaking the jutsu and ignoring the throbbing pain just below his waist.

Suddenly she was right up in his face, scowling at him agitatedly. Poking him in the chest, she drawled, "And the truth will set you free, so start talking."

His eyes flashed red for a second and he gritted his teeth, glaring at her for all he was worth, but she didn't back down. "Why the hell are you so damn desperate to know, huh?" he demanded.

"Because you're my friend and I care about you!" she exclaimed.

"If you were really my friend then you'd respect my wishes and just _drop it_!" he snapped back.

Naruto's arm shot up abuptly and he socked himself in the jaw. "Fucking hell, Ino! Would you stop that already?" he bellowed.

"Not until you tell me why the hell the villagers treat you like shit!" she proclaimed.

Naruto's head bowed forward and his bangs fell over his eyes. "If I tell you," he mumbled dejectedly, "You'll just end up hating me too."

"I will not! Don't go making stupid, not to mention inaccurate, assumptions about me! You're my friend Naruto, and friends don't turn their backs on each other, no matter what," she explained earnestly, trying to look him directly in the eyes, but they were completely hidden beneath his fringe. He remained silent and refused to look up at her. With an exasperated sigh, she continued, "Your relationship with Sasuke is to fucking confusing to be labelled, so he doesn't count."

Ino waited expectantly, but after a few minutes, her eye started to twitch and her foot began tapping impatiently. She was just about to have him nail himself in the balls again when he whispered, "The Kyuubi no Kitsune...Yondaime-sama didn't kill it. He sealed it. Inside a newborn baby. Me." He finally lifted his head and stared back at her with pain-filled eyes. "That's why I, you know, go berserk sometimes..."

Ino stood frozen, staring at him wide-eyed as the words began to sink in. Naruto closed his eyes and smiled widely, though Ino could see the way his lips quivered and sense his uneasiness. "'Course, Kyuubi's also the reason I heal so fast. It has this thing about keeping me alive so that it lives too. It doesn't just heal wounds either; it breaks down all foreign toxins too. So I don't ever get sick, and poison doesn't even faze me."

"I hate it when you pretend to smile," Ino muttered.

"Huh?" He blinked in confusion.

Naruto suddenly felt the jutsu being released, but before he could force his limbs into action, Ino had smacked him upside the head quite harshly. "Idiot! Don't force smiles around me! And how the hell could you think that I would hate you for that! Naruto is still Naruto! Just because you've got a demon sealed inside you, it doesn't change the fact that you're too-loud, hyperactive, moronic Naruto!"

Naruto paused in rubbing his smarting head to look down at Ino. "Arigato, Ino-chan," he chirped with a smile--a real, open-eyed, genuine smile.

Ino blushed.

* * *

**End Flashback**

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* * *

**  
Ino sat staring down at her magazine-cluttered coffee table as the memory flashed before her mind's eye. How could she have forgotten? She had always attributed Naruto's hangover-less mornings to the Kyuubi's influence, but it had never crossed her mind that Naruto didn't get hangovers because Kyuubi never let him get drunk in the first place.

Her gaze flew up to Naruto as he pushed off the wall and handed the towel back to her. "Um, thanks. I--I still need to turn in my mission report, so I'll see you later. I guess. Call me if you need anything, okay?" With that, he quickly exited the room and the sound of the door opening and closing followed a few seconds later.

_He wasn't drunk. He knew what he was doing, what he was saying..._

**_I love you, Ino._**

_He didn't say that because of the alcohol. He really...meant it._

Ino dazedly got to her feet.

_He meant it._

**_I love you..._**

Ino's hands fisted in her hair as she wailed, "Just what the hell are we?"

**A/N: Hmm...well, that took me awhile. But this chapter is longer than the previous ones; it's about 2,000 words, which is long for me. I just don't have the attention span to write long chapters. Half the time, I can't even read long chapters consistantly. Ah, well. Next chapter: Ino finally gets a bit in-character with a rant! And ebil jealousy is lurking around the corner. o0**

**Yeah. Review time! Please?  
**

**-mH**


	5. Blame

**Disclaimer: **Disclaimer's are so cliché. Therefore this shall henceforth be **Not a Disclaimer**. And since this isn't a disclaimer, I _do_ own _Naruto_. Hazaa. I have finally conquered the double negatives.

**Friends With Benefits**

**Chapter Five**

**Blame**

"He can't get drunk?" Sakura exclaimed, slamming her cup of coffee down on her kitchen table and leaning forward in her chair.

Ino nodded distractedly as she continued pacing back and forth in the small kitchen.

"And _that_ night, he really said—"

Ino cut her off with a curt nod as she fell into a chair at the table.

"_Kami-sama_…"

"I know," Ino groaned before dropping her head onto her folded arms.

Sakura sighed as she patted Ino's head soothingly. They sat there in silence until Sakura mused thoughtfully, "_Ne_, Naruto knew exactly what was happening, right?"

Ino lifted her head up just enough so that she could effectively glare at Sakura before hissing, "We've already been over this, Forehead."

"Yeah, I know. But I was going to say, _Ino-pig,_" Sakura spat back with a scowl, "If he wasn't drunk, then he knew what would most likely happen if he didn't use a condom, which he quite obviously chose not to do."

Ino's head snapped up, her eyes narrowed into then slits, before her fist bashed down on the table. Sakura winced in sympathy of her poor, abused table and made a mental note to get that splintering hole Ino had just made patched as soon as possible. And to possibly get the underside of the table reinforced with steel; maybe then it would actually stand a chance.

"That bastard! He took advantage of me and knocked me up on purpose!" she wailed, shooting up from her chair and stomping out of the room.

"Er, he took advantage of you, yeah. And, sure, he didn't do the responsible thing and use a condom, but I don't think he was actually _trying _to get you pregnant," Sakura reasoned as she followed the disgruntled blonde into the hallway. When they reached the doorway and Ino bent down to slip on her sandals, Sakura inquired, "Where are you going?"

"To wherever the hell that dumbass is. I'm going to beat the shit out of him for knocking me up!" Ino growled. She straightened back up and reached for the door handle, gripping it tightly in her anger.

"But what about…" Sakura trailed off awkwardly.

"What about what?" Ino badgered impatiently, glancing behind her but not bothering to turn around.

"Your decision. You know, whether or not to have an abortion?" Sakura reminded her hesitantly.

Ino paused for a minute and stared down at the door handle solemnly. Then her brow creased as she frowned and responded, "I'll decide once I've vented." Sakura nodded and held the door open for Ino as she stalked out in search of Naruto.

A wicked smirk tugged at the edges of Sakura's mouth as she leaned out of her doorway to yell down the street after Ino's retreating form, "Just don't inflict too much damage where it counts! You never know, maybe you two will want to try for another kid in the near future!"

Three _shuriken_ were embedded in Sakura's doorframe milliseconds later, mere centimeters from her head. Sakura's grin only widened as she pulled the _shuriken _out of the wooden frame and put them in a locked drawer incase Ino came back looking for them and feeling homicidal toward a certain acts-before-he-thinks blue-eyed blonde.

**

* * *

Ino's Point-of-View**

I can't believe that didn't click before. How could I have overlooked that this was all Naruto's fault? Granted, I was a little preoccupied by the fact that I'm _pregnant_, but I shouldn't have been so distracted that I forgot about the source of the problem. That asshole. I can't believe I actually blamed getting pregnant on _alcohol_. How dare I, right? I knew that alcohol wouldn't betray me like that. I would go and celebrate this epiphany with a toast, but one: I have to go kill Naruto first, and two: alcohol is bad for the baby.

Which brings up my next dilemma. Am I going to have an abortion or not? One thing's for sure, I'm not going to go through with this if I'm going to be all by myself, and since I'm about to kill Naruto and Forehead-baka is clearly too busy teasing me to be of any help, that leaves my parents. Kami-sama, I haven't even told my parents yet. There are _so_ going to kill me. On the bright side, if they do kill me, I won't have to worry about making a decision since I'll be dead and all.

I'm just now rounding the corner to the street where the Ichiraku stand is, since the _dobe_ (it's so fitting and so catchy, no wonder Sasuke always calls him that) wasn't at his apartment and this is the only other place I can think of to look for him. I'm in luck. There he is, inhaling his ramen, as usual. That bright orange jumpsuit is like a beacon calling me forward to begin my assault. I'm about to step forward and pummel his skull with _kunai_, but I notice that he's not alone. He's there with Hinata. She's giggling as he tries to reach a noodle stuck to his cheek with his tongue. I remember Ten-Ten mentioning once how cute the two of them are together and Sakura nodding in agreement. Ten-Ten was right. They are cute together.

For some unknown reason, I feel my blood run cold and all of my anger fade to leave me feeling empty and alone. So I turn around and head straight back to Sakura's place.

**A/N: Yeah. So there's the new chapter. It's short, yeah. But I'm trying to work out where I want this story to go. So review and guilt me into figuring out the plot soon! And thanks to all those who reviewed the last chapter! I posted that chapter right before finals started, and the lovely reviews helped me to make it through those dreary days.**

**-mH**


	6. Jealousy

**Disclaimer: **I don't own _Naruto_. Reality is so cruel.

**Friends With Benefits**

**Chapter Six**

**Jealousy**

Sakura had just put her empty mug in the sink and left the kitchen for her room when her apartment door creaked open slowly. She turned to look down the short hallway curiously, raising a carefully tweezed eyebrow as Ino trudged by her and into the cramped living room to flop down gracelessly onto the couch.

"I take it you couldn't find Naruto?" Sakura inquired as she followed her friend/rival and sat down beside her.

Ino's attention stayed glued on the wall before her. "No, I found him," she muttered.

Sakura blinked confusedly and frowned at Ino's odd behavior, wondering if maybe the pregnancy was making her act so odd. "If you found him, then why are you so down? Don't tell me beating up on Naruto has lost its satisfaction."

"I didn't beat up on him."

"Eh? Why not? I thought that was the whole purpose of stomping out of here earlier?"

"Un...but I never even went up to him."

"Why not?" Sakura demanded.

"He was eating at Ichiraku," Ino answered vaguely.

"So? We've interrupted his atrocious feeding habits plenty of times before," Sakura responded with a frown. What was _with her_, that annoying Ino-pig?

Ino continued quietly, "He was there with Hinata."

"What? Like on a date?"

Ino nodded.

"Oh. So?" Sakura prodded. Ino's unusual behavior was putting Sakura on edge.

"What do you mean 'so'?" Ino exploded, quickly whipping around to face Sakura, which caused her to back away reflexively as she starred back at Ino wide-eyed.

"I mean, so what?" Sakura began cautiously, "You're his friend aren't you? Shouldn't you be happy for him? I thought you wanted him to get himself a girl?"

"I do," Ino insisted as she turned her attention back to the wall, "Just not her…"

"Why not?" Sakura pressed.

"Because...because," Ino mumbled before asserting, "Just because!"

Sakura cocked her head to the side and questioned carefully, "Then who _do_ you think he should be with?"

"I don't know!" Ino exclaimed. She shot up from the couch and began pacing in tight circles around the coffee table.

"You know," Sakura muttered thoughtfully, "If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you were jealous."

Ino's pacing came to an abrupt halt as she spun on her heel and demanded, "What the hell of?"

"Naruto and Hinata," Sakura responded simply.

"WHAT?" Ino snapped.

"You want Naruto to be out on dates at Ichiraku with _you_," she explained calmly.

"No, I don't!" Ino shouted. "We're friends. With benefits. Nothing more."

Sakura stood up from the couch with a sigh, smoothing the wrinkles in her skirt disinterestedly. "You'll be parents, too. Well, depending on what you decide."

Ino's fists clenched by her sides. "Baka Forehead! We're nothing more!" she wailed before storming out of the apartment for the second time that day. Sakura just stared after her.

Scoffing at her friend, Sakura continued toward room, mumbling to herself, "Really Ino-pig, when are you going to just suck it up and admit that you're in love with him?"

-----

Naruto happily slurped up the remaining drops of broth and set his now-empty bowl down on the Ichiraku counter. Having curbed his insatiable hunger for the moment, he turned his attention to his quiet companion. Hinata was eating her own ramen far more delicately than Naruto had. Feeling his eyes on her, she swallowed the last noodles, set down her chopsticks, and gazed back at Naruto questioningly.

He gave her a cheeky grin before inquiring, "So, how are things going with you and Kiba, Hinata-chan?"

A light blush settled over her cheeks as she averted her eyes back to her bowl. "T-things are f-fine, I guess..."

Naruto leaned toward her, placing one elbow on the counter to keep his balance. "Have you guys kissed yet?" he asked with a teasing grin.

"N-n-no!" Hinata squeaked in reply, her face aflame. Naruto leaned back on his stool and laughed uproariously at her flustered reaction. "Mou," Hinata whined, her startled expression fading into a pout. Naruto just laughed harder. Hinata's eyes narrowed slightly as she exclaimed, "W-well! W-what about you and Ino!"

When Naruto suddenly sobered at her words, she immediately became concerned. "N-naruto-kun... What happened?"

Naruto bowed his head and let his bangs hide his face from view as he muttered, "I kind of...told her I love her."

"B-but that's great, Naruto-kun!" Hinata insisted. Naruto's head stayed bowed dejectedly and a sudden realization hit Hinata that saddened her as well. "W-what did she say when you...t-told her?"

Naruto brought a hand up and fisted it in his hair. "She didn't say anything. She doesn't even remember I said it. She was totally smashed."

"Oh..." Hinata mumbled with a sigh. "Why don't you try t-telling her again? When she's s-sober maybe?" she suggested, smiling slightly.

Naruto's fist suddenly slammed down onto the countertop and Hinata jumped. "I can't! It's too complicated now!"

"Why is it so c-complicated?" she asked quietly.

Naruto hesitated. "She's... Ino's pregnant."

Hinata stared at him wide-eyed in complete shock. When the stunned silence slowly started to ebb into an uncomfortable one, Hinata cleared her throat and mumbled, "T-that certainly would c-complicate things." Naruto lifted his head long enough to glare at her.

"Naruto-kun, you need to tell her," Hinata asserted softly.

"But we're just friends. With benefits," he protested.

"Y-you haven't thought of her as j-just a friend since the first time she k-kissed you."

"Yeah, but...she still sees me as just a friend..."

"That's why you need to tell her!" she exclaimed.

Naruto looked up in surprise at her sudden outburst before his shock melted into a genuine smile. "Thanks, Hinata-chan." She returned the smile with a warm one of her own, giggling when Naruto leaned over the countertop and began shouting enthusiastically for the old man who ran the store to bring him another bowl of miso ramen before he starved to death.

Naruto had already gulped down half of his new bowl when he turned back toward her with a mischievous grin and proclaimed, "How about this: I'll confess to Ino when you kiss Kiba."

Hinata nearly choked on the noodles in her mouth. Blushing wildly, she slammed her chopsticks down onto the countertop and stood from her stool. "F-fine!"

Naruto was so stunned to see her stomp off determinedly from the ramen stand that he actually forgot about his ramen, threw some money down on the counter, and ran after her, demanding to know just what she meant by 'fine'.

**A/N: Ahh! Please forgive me! I'm so sorry this took so long! I just get side-tracked so easily! The good news is, there are only two more chapters left! Or maybe that's bad news? Depends on your perspective, I guess. Until then, toodles! And don't forget to review, pretty please!**

**-mH**


	7. Resolves Part One

**Disclaimer: **Do I own _Naruto_? Hell no. Wish I did though. That'd be hella tight.

**Note: This half-a-chapter hasn't been read over. At all. I just spellchecked. Please disregard any errors or fix them in your head as you read.**

**Friends With Benefits**

**Chapter Seven**

**Resolves**

**Part One**

Naruto looked on bewilderedly as Hinata peered carefully around the street corner. "Hinata wha--" She held up a hand to quickly hush him before jerking back around and into the wall of the building beside them.

"What the hell's gotten into you!" Naruto demanded. Hinata ignored him and stared ahead.

Taking a deep breath, Hinata stood up straight and squared her shoulders before nodding her head with conviction and stomping around the street corner.

"Eh?" Naruto wailed, rounding the corner as well and exclaiming, "Oi! What's with you all of a sudden?"

Hinata continued to ignore him as she marched down the street purposefully. Naruto stared after her perplexedly, more than a little annoyed at being repeatedly ignored. He had just turned around and was about to go home when he heard her call out, "Kiba-kun!"

Naruto stopped dead in his tracks, thinking frantically, _No, no, no. I was just joking. It was a _joke. _Hinata's not actually gonna kiss him, right? Right. She's just...gotta ask him...something. OR SHE'S GONNA KISS HIM! But if she kisses him, than I have to tell Ino-- NO. It was just a joke. Even if she kisses Kiba, I wasn't being serious about that ultimatum. It's all good. _On that note, Naruto slowly turned back around to watch to watch the encounter unfold.

-----

Kiba stopped and looked back over his shoulder when he heard his name being called. Akamaru paused beside him. "Ah, Hinata. Did you need something?"Kiba asked, turning to face her.

Hinata nodded and strode forward, stopping about a foot in front of him. "Kiba-kun."

"What's up?"

"Kiba-kun..."

"Yeah?"

"K-kiba-kun..."

Hinata's resolve seemed to be crumbling rapidly.

"Is something wrong, Hinata?" Kiba asked concernedly as Akamaru stepped forward to nuzzle at her hand.

"N-no...I...uh j-just..." Hinata averted her eyes and a light blush spread over her pale cheeks.

Kiba watched her worriedly. Sure Hinata was timid and soft-spoken, even more more so when she was embarrassed or unsure of something, but she had stopped stuttering years ago. He wondered what could have brought the old habit out of remission.

"Would you mind if -- Could I --" she squeaked. Her entire face was flushed now and her hands were twitching at her sides. Kiba tilted his head to the side curiously. He could tell Hinata was was doing her best to resist the urge to bring her hands up in front of her and tap her fingers together nervously.

Then she stopped moving all together, and suddenly her colorless eyes were locked on his. Next thing Kiba knew, Hinata had a hand fisted in the collar of his shirt and was pulling him down toward her. And then all that Kiba was aware of were the soft lips pressing firmly against his own and the sweet smell of lavender that had flooded his senses.

Hinata slowly pulled back after a moment, uncurling her fist and letting her arm drop back down to her side. She parted her lips and tried to squeeze a few words past, but nothing came out. She took in Kiba's wide-eyed, shocked expression that seemed to be frozen in place as he stared straight ahead without seeing much of anything. She could feel her skin flushing hotly and she became aware of the blood pumping through veins so frantically that she could hear it. Biting her bottom lip, she spun on her heel and darted back to where Naruto was standing with his mouth agape, looking just as stunned as Kiba had. She grabbed his arm and yanked him after her as she veered around the closest street corner.

-----

**A/N: I know that this is ridiculously short, but it's only the first half! Please bare with me. I've been getting increasingly sick for the past week, and I've been so exhausted lately that the sparse free time I have between school and homework is spent sleeping. I'm so sorry!**

**This update was by special request from kagehusha. Happy Birthday! **

**Once again, I'm so sorry for the shortness. I promise to have the rest of this finished by this weekend!**

**-mH**


	8. Resolves Part Two

**Disclaimer: **Sadly, it's the same as before. I don't own _Naruto_.

**Friends With Benefits**

**Chapter Seven**

**Resolves**

**Part Two**

Hinata came to a stop once they were off the main street, leaning against the nearest building as she hid her flaming face. _I can't believe I really just did that. I seriously kissed Kiba-kun. Kami-sama… _She spared a moment of her bewildered and embarrassed thoughts to peek through her fingers at Naruto, who was gaping at her like a fish out of water, flailing and all.

"You-- You-- You really--!" Naruto stammered, waving one arm in her direction to vaguely point an accusing finger at her.

Hinata giggled softly. _I really did it! And Kiba-kun didn't pull away! _With a small smile and a receding blush decorating her face, she chirped, "Your turn."

Naruto's flailing abruptly stopped as he stared at her in stunned horror while all the color drained from his face. "M-my turn? The hell? No way! I was _joking_ before! JOKING! Just 'cause you kissed Kiba, that doesn't mean I'm gonna-- gonna--"

"But you never go back on your word, ne? That's you way of the ninja, isn't it?" Hinata asked with an expression of mock-innocence.

"But this-- This is totally different form that! I was _joking_!" Naruto spluttered.

Hinata had the sudden urge to smirk mischievously as she shrugged nonchalantly. "Joking or not, you still said it. I did my part, now it's your turn."

Naruto took to gaping at her again before fisting his hands in his hair to tug at it in his agitation. Then he started pacing, mumbling to himself. Hinata just followed him with her eyes patiently, knowing that he would talk himself into doing it now that his honor as a ninja of his word had come into question.

His pacing came to an sudden halt as he whirled on Hinata and exclaimed, "Fine! I'll tell her! Happy now?"

Hinata nodded and, as Naruto stalked off back onto the main street, called after him, "Good luck, Naruto-kun! Don't screw up!" Her implied lack of faith in him was rewarded with him flipping her off.

Laughing quietly to herself, Hinata peered around the street corner after Naruto, catching a glimpse of Kiba as she did so. He was still standing in the middle of the street--exactly where she'd left him--and hadn't seemed to move an inch; even his expression was still the same as he continued gape in shock. Hinata's blush was renewed full force as she ducked back behind the sanctity of the surrounding buildings, raising a hand to brush against her lips as they spread into a sweet, contented smile.

* * *

Naruto stood hesitantly outside the door to the Yamanaka flower shop, debating whether or not he should go in. He could just walk away now. How would Hinata know if he'd really told Ino or not? He could just tell her that Ino had rejected him. That was how it was going to turn out anyway, so he might as well just save himself from the biting chill that he knew would freeze his blood the moment Ino told him that she didn't return his feelings. But he had said that he would tell Ino. And if nothing else, Naruto was a ninja of his word. He couldn't go against his way of the ninjanow.

With a heavy sigh, Naruto reached forward for the door handle just as the door was opened from the inside. He stepped back hastily to avoid being hit by the door, but he still collided with the person exiting the shop. As the person stumbled back from the impact, Naruto grabbed a wheeling arm to help steady the person and had opened his mouth to start apologizing profusely when he noticed just who the person was.

"Ino…" he muttered, drawing back his arm when she lightly brushed it off of her own.

"Naruto." She nodded before sliding past him and making her way down the street.

Naruto stood blinking at the empty doorway for another second before turning to follow her. "Ah, sorry about that, Ino-chan. But, I was actually headed here to see you so… How are you?"

Ino's eyes flickered up to meet his for barely a second before she returned her focus to the street ahead of them. "I'm fine."

"How's the, you know, morning sickness…and all?" Naruto asked, feeling awkward discussing things so foreign to him so casually.

"Sakura gave me some medicine to settle my stomach, so it's not so bad now," she replied. Naruto couldn't help but notice that her tone sounded clipped, almost as if she was angry with him.

"Ah, that's good, then." He tried to make his voice match his amiable expression, but the vibes wafting off of Ino at the moment were anything but friendly.

Her pace--which had been brisk, as if she'd been trying to loose him--stilled as she pivoted to face him and inquired tersely, "Did you actually need something?"

Naruto's pretense of cheerfulness crumbled as he looked back at her anxiously. "Er…well, yeah. I wanted, well needed, or no… I have to tell you something."

Ino raised a delicate eyebrow and the look in her eyes had Naruto's blood running cold. "Tell me something? Don't worry about it. I already know," she said flippantly. With that, she continued to make her way down the street as Naruto looked on half-perplexed as to what she was talking about and half-horrified that she'd been talking about what he was trying to talk about. That was a rejection, right? He hadn't actually confessed, but then she'd said she already knew and brushed him off. Naruto's heart felt like it had sunk somewhere near the vicinity of his stomach and was continuing to plummet.

"Oh," Ino called back over her shoulder, her pace never slowing, "Pass my congratulations on to Hinata, will you? You two really make a perfect couple, ne?" Wait, what was she talking about, Naruto wondered. What did Hinata have to do with anything? This was so confusing. He just needed to tell her that he loved her and get it over with.

"And," here Ino hesitated in her steps, but only for a moment, "I think I'm going to have the abortion after all. I'm just not ready, you know?" And then Ino was gone, having disappeared from the street and, Naruto feared, from his life as well.

**A/N: Hmm. Yes. So, there's the chapter I promised. Here I'd like to propose a poll: should Ino go through with the abortion, or not? It's up to the reviewers how this story ends, so be sure to vote!**

**Thanks to all you people who've been reading this fic! And special thanks to the people who reviewed! And super special thanks to the reviewers who wished me well. I'm not sick anymore! Yay! It's so much easier to write with a brain unclouded by the effects of too much cough syrup. **

**-mH**


	9. Conclusions Part One

**Disclaimer: **These things are so annoying. But they're, like, legally required and that jazz so… I don't own _Naruto_ or any characters/places associated with it. For what seems like the gazillionth time.

**Friends with Benefits**

**Chapter Eight**

**Part One**

**Conclusions**

_"Pass my congratulations on to Hinata, will you? You two really make a perfect couple, ne?"_

Naruto stood dumbfounded in the street trying to figure out what had just transpired. He'd finally convinced himself to confess to Ino (_again_, though really the first time hadn't counted), but first she'd said she already knew what he was going to say, and the she'd said some crap about him and Hinata being a perfect couple. What the hell was that supposed to mean? Wait, did Ino think that he and Hinata were..._together_!?

"NANI!?" Naruto exclaimed, drawing the attention of passers-by who had been studiously ignoring him. Naruto had come to tell her that he was in love with her, but she thought that he was in love with Hinata!? What the hell!? First off, Naruto couldn't figure out how Ino had even come up with the idea of him and Hinata being together--just the thought of it was enough to make him shudder. Hinata was practically a sister to him, and it was only blatantly obvious that Hinata was head over heels for Kiba. Sure, Hinata used to have a crush on him, but that was when they were like _twelve_!

It was about this time that Ino's parting comment finally registered in his befuddled mind. _"I think I'm going to have the abortion after all. I'm just not ready, you know?" _His heart seemed to stop beating altogether and all of his senses dulled beyond recognition. The street he'd been standing on faded into a deep, black abyss that absorbed everything--scenery, people, air, sound--and the overwhelming sense of loss and loneliness that washed over him was like nothing he'd ever felt before. It was ten times worse than the feeling of having your veins flooded with liquid nitrogen that accompanied rejection, and it was twenty times worse than that feeling of drowning in icy water that had nearly stopped his heart when he'd seen Sakura and Sasuke walking past him on a street that time--Sakura had been clinging to Sasuke as usual, but Sasuke hadn't scowled and pushed her away as usual.

And then there was suddenly too much sound. The vibrations resounded throughout his entire body as he heard Ino's voice echoing endlessly, bouncing back at him in the darkness, _"I think I'm going to have the abortion after all. I'm going to have the abortion. I'm just not ready, you know? I'm going to have the abortion."_ The cacophony became incoherent as the words all blended together, and soon the only word he could make out was _"abortion, abortion, abortion."_

Naruto didn't know why, but he had a feeling that the baby slowly growing inside Ino's belly was the only connection left between them--that Ino was trying to sever all ties with him and push him out of her life forever. But why would she want to do that? Was it because getting pregnant had made her realize what exactly she'd let herself get involved in and she didn't like where things were headed? Was it because she hadn't been quite as drunk as he thought she had been that night and she _knew_? Was it because of what she thought was going on between him and Hinata?

So, either she got bitch-slapped by reality, she was avoiding him instead of rejecting him flat out, or she was jealous and hurt. Naruto hoped it was the last one. Not that he wanted to hurt Ino, but that was the only scenario that offered him any chance.

He needed to know. He needed to know where they stood. He needed to know what they were. He needed a label to stick onto this _thing_ that had been evolving between them. He needed to find Ino.

* * *

"Where the hell is she!?" Naruto exclaimed, bursting into the Hokage's office to face the surprised Hokage and her two stunned students.

"Naruto! Just what do you think you're doing, barging in here and shouting?" Sakura demanded with her hands fisted moodily on her hips.

"Where is she?" he gasped out. He was breathing heavily, his chest heaving as he practically gulped in needed air.

"You'll have to be more specific, brat," Tsunade responded coolly as she surveyed the new dent in the wall next to the doorway.

"Ino! I can't find her! And I have to tell her!" Naruto explained frantically, gesturing wildly about him.

"Tell her what exactly?" Sakura muttered sarcastically, "The sky's falling?"

"No!" Naruto snapped back exasperatedly. "I have to tell her that I love her! That me and Hinata are _just friends_! That I'm not sorry I got her pregnant. And that I don't want her to have the abortion. I mean, I know it's her choice, but still, I want her to keep the baby. And I want to tell her that I want to help her raise it and be a permanent part of her life! I want to tell her that I want to put a label on this! I want to tell her everything before it's too late!" he babbled hysterically while yanking at handfuls of golden locks.

"She's…having the abortion?" Sakura asked hesitantly.

Naruto suddenly fell into one of the chairs in front of the desk and slumped forward. "That's what she said."

"Well what did you say? Did you try to talk her out of it?" Tsunade inquired, watching Naruto's deflated form worriedly.

"I didn't say anything! She was already walking away!" he wailed.

"Why didn't you go after her!?" Sakura demanded.

"Why the hell do you think I'm looking for her now!?" Naruto exploded, lifting up his head to send her a steely glare.

Sakura glowered right back at him and was about to step forward to punch his face in when Shizune placed a hand on her shoulder placatingly. "Sakura-san, do you know where Ino-san might be right now? Someplace she might go when she's upset, perhaps?"

Sakura crossed her arms over her chest and scoffed, still glaring at Naruto, who'd suddenly taken to looking up at her hopefully. "Sakura-chan," he said pleadingly.

Looking to the side with a sigh, she mumbled, "There's a field of wildflowers near the training grounds that she likes."

Naruto shot forward and engulfed Sakura in a bone-crushing hug. "Thank you," he whispered against her hair before pulling back and darting out of the office.

"Good luck brat!" Tsunade called after him.

"I hope he can stop her from having the abortion…" Sakura said quietly.

"Hmm?"

"Ino doesn't want to admit how she feels about him. But she wants to have his baby. She wants to be with Naruto. If she goes though with the abortion, she'll be miserable. She doesn't want to give up on Naruto and she doesn't want to give up his baby," she elaborated while she watched through the window as Naruto ran past on the street below.

"Don't worry. Naruto will make sure everything works out the way it should. He'd never give up on Ino, even if she gave up on him. He's too stubborn. He'll badger her about it until she has no choice but to admit how she feels. And he'd never let Ino be miserable. There's nothing to worry about with those two. What's meant to be will be, and I get the feeling that they're meant to be," Tsunade reassured her.

"Tsunade-sama's right. Ino-san is one of the luckiest girls in the world to have snagged Naruto-kun," Shizune added with a grin.

Sakura quirked a small smile in return. "But I'm _the_ luckiest girl in the world, ne? Since I snagged Sasuke-kun."

"I don't know," Tsunade drawled, "If I was your age, I'd choose Naruto over Sasuke any day."

"Eh? Why?" Sakura exclaimed in indignation.

"He's going to be Hokage, don't you know? What girl wouldn't go for the next Hokage, especially when he turned out to be so handsome?" Tsunade countered.

"Sasuke-kun would make just as great a Hokage as Naruto," Sakura replied defensively.

"Maybe, but I didn't offer the position to Sasuke, now did I?" Tsunade fired back with a smug smirk.

"Eh!?" Shizune and Sakura shrieked. "When did that happen!?"

**A/N: I am so sorry for not updating sooner. Honestly, I have all of the rest of this chapter except for short section written out in my notebook, but things have just been so hectic lately that I haven't had any time to post. Today's the first day I've had a break from school work in weeks. T.T Hopefully I'll be able to post the rest of this by this weekend. If not, I'm really sorry!**

**-mH**

**P.S. Hmm. That last poll went pretty nicely, though you still don't know what's gonna happen. Will I go by what the reviewers voted for? Who knows. Let's try a new poll this time! How do you think Naruto should confess to Ino?**

**P.P.S. I seem to have added in a plot here at what is supposed to be the last chapter of this fic. Oh well.**


	10. Conclusions Part Two

**Disclaimer: **Did you really think it would have changed since the last time? I don't own _Naruto_.

"They all say they're gonna be there, until they get their 'real' family." – Janice, _Friends_

**Friends with Benefits**

**Chapter Eight**

**Part Two**

**Conclusions**

**A few days earlier--**

There was a light tapping at the doors to her office, and Tsunade called out a distracted, "Come in," as she sifted through the towering stack of papers on her desk. The door opened slowly and a moment later she heard it click shut softly.

"You wanted to see me?"

Tsunade looked up finally at the emotionless voice and regarded the man in front of her with wide eyes. He was drenched from the rain, like he'd just walked walk all the way there without bothering to be quick about it or stay under the relative cover of the shop awnings. His golden hair seemed to have lost its shine as it hung limply in front of his eyes, droplets of water clinging precariously to the ends. "Naruto? What's wrong?" she asked concernedly, motioning him toward a chair.

Naruto sank into the chair, his head falling forward to rest against the palms of his hands. "…Ino…she's pregnant…"

Tsunade's golden eyes widened again in surprise. She cleared her throat and began uncertainly, "Well then. I suppose…congratulations are in order? Though you may want to at least pretend to be engaged before you tell her parents…"

Naruto raised his gaze from the floor to glance at her with narrowed eyes, a hint of his usual spark present before it was quickly extinguished. "I don't think I'll have to worry about that. She said she's considering an abortion…" he mumbled in a broken tone.

Tsunade stared sadly at the dejected young man sitting before her that she had come to think of as a much younger brother. She'd known about his relations with Ino almost as soon as they'd begun, and she'd expressed her displeasure at the kind of relationship where everything was physical. Jiraiya, of course, had supported the idea wholeheartedly. Tsunade had known, though, that in that kind of situation, no matter what he told himself in the beginning, Naruto would end up with feelings for her other than what Ino was looking for.

And, just as she'd predicted, not three months later he'd come to her and confessed that he'd fallen for Ino. It just wasn't possible for Naruto to spend so much time with someone, especially in such intimate proximity, and not become attached. He craved attention and affection, and he was far too trusting. It was just his nature. Thankfully, Sakura had mentioned that Ino had been starting to develop similar feelings for Naruto, though she seemed to be denying them almost effortlessly as far as Tsunade could tell.

Their relationship was already complicated enough. And now Ino was pregnant, befuddling things even more. If Ino had an abortion now, how would Naruto take it exactly? It might just be too much for him.

Naruto inhaled deeply in an attempt to collect himself and sat up straight in his chair. "You wanted to talk to me about something?" he asked pointedly.

Tsunade sighed. "Yes, and who knows? Maybe it'll cheer you up." Naruto raised an eyebrow questioningly, but Tsunade could tell that he wasn't nearly as interested as he normally would have been. "I have a meeting with the Elders coming up," she continued, "And they've been pressuring me to nominate a candidate for Rokudaime so that whomever I choose can start learning the ropes and be prepared to take over for me when I decide to step down. I just thought I'd inform you that I'm putting you name forward."

Naruto gaped at her, and Tsunade was glad to note that her news seemed to have banished his depressing thoughts for the time being. "M-Me!? Rokudaime?"

"I didn't stutter, did I?" Tsunade returned.

"But—I mean—me?—are you sure?" he asked uncertainly.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Do you really think I could do it, though? Do you think I'm ready?"

Tsunade frowned. "Why the sudden lack of faith in yourself, brat?"

"Sorry, today's just been…overwhelming," he muttered. "I feel like I totally screwed things up between me and Ino. I just, you know, want to think before I act so I don't mess anything else up."

Tsunade nodded in understanding and said delicately, "Well, ultimately, it is Ino's decision whether or not to have the abortion, but it's not set in stone or anything, right? Take some time off, clear your head, then sit down with her and talk everything out. And maybe mull over the whole Rokudaime bit while you're at it."

Naruto looked away sheepishly, but nodded.

"It's not like I'm going to step down tomorrow," she added in a reassuring tone. "I'm just naming you the official Rokudaime-to-be. We'll make sure you're perfectly capable of fulfilling the role before I hand over the robes. Which reminds me, you might also want to consider taking on a genin team."

Naruto quirked a small smile before standing up. "Thank you," he said sincerely.

Tsunade dipped her head back down to start sorting though more papers in order to hide her own smile. "Yeah, yeah. Now get out of my office, brat. And don't worry about things with Ino. You'll sort it out somehow. Luck is always on your side, ne?"

* * *

Ino plopped down in the middle of a field of flowers, regarding all the colorful petals surrounding her enviously. "You flowers have it so easy. All you have to do is stay rooted there, photosynthesizing and looking pretty. You don't have to worry about falling for an idiot that knocked you up and then totally shattered your heart," she complained.

She pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her head against her thighs. "How the hell did this happen anyway? Naruto was just supposed to be someone to have some fun with. My heart shouldn't feel like it's been ripped in two just 'cause I saw him on a date with another girl. We're friends…with benefits. He can date whoever he wants. I don't care."

"_I love you, Ino_."

Those four words flashed across her mind for the thousandth time and she felt tears building in her eyes. That was what confused her most about all this. Why had Naruto said that? Had he really meant it? Was it just one of those heat-of-the-moment things? Why did her heart beat so erratically every time she relived that moment?

Ino lifted her head, propping her chin on her knees as she watched the wind rustle the leaves of the bordering trees and sway the flowers to and fro in a mocking air of carelessness. "You know, when it all started, that first time we kissed, I promised myself that it would all just be physical, a way to relieve some sexual frustrations. But, in spite of how much I told myself to only get involved physically, I still somehow managed to fall for him," Ino confessed with a sad smile. She let out a brief, bitter laugh. "I couldn't help it. Baka-Naruto. It's all his fault."

* * *

Naruto stood at the edge of the flower field, shifting his weight from foot-to-foot nervously. Now that he'd actually found Ino, his resolve to spill everything was wavering. She was crouched down in the middle of the meadow, fingering the petals of a purple flower delicately. Her bangs were hanging in front of her face, effectively blocking her face from Naruto's view, but he knew Ino well enough now to know that she was upset and on the verge of tears.

When he realized this, he forgot about all of the things he was supposed to say and started towards her with no other intention in mind besides keeping her from crying and making her smile. She ignored his presence until he was standing right beside her, and still she only glanced in his direction.

"Ino…" He tried to think of something to say to comfort her, but nothing sounded right in his head.

"I came out here so that I could have some time alone to think," she muttered. Naruto just stood there.

"About the abortion?" he asked a moment later, recalling what he'd come to talk to her about. Ino quickly stood and brushed the dirt off of the back of her skirt, her back turned to him. "Are you really going to go through with it? 'Cause if the reason you decided to have an abortion was 'cause you're scared to raise it by yourself, you don't have to worry about that. Honestly, I don't know much about babies, but I'll find some books on it or something, and I'll do whatever you want me to do. I'll go out in the middle of the night to get you ice cream and hot sauce if you get a craving for it. Hell, I'll get Chouji to teach me how to cook, then I'll make you anything you want. You won't have to do it alone. I'll help you with everything…if you want," he proclaimed incessantly to her back.

"They all say they're gonna be there, until they get their 'real' family…" Ino mumbled without turning around to look at him.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Naruto asked, his brows knitting in confusion. Ino shook her head and then started walking away. "Hey!" Naruto shouted after her, while he jogged up behind her and reached out for her arm desperately to stop her.

"Just drop it, will you?" she snapped.

Naruto let go of her arm as a frown marred his features and his hands clenched at his sides. "Is this something to do with that perfect couple crap?" he demanded.

Ino glanced back at him over her shoulder. "What the hell are you on about?" she asked irately.

"You! And the confusing shit you say!" Naruto growled. "All that "Congrats! You two are perfect!" crap you were spewing before. Hinata's nothing like my perfect person, you dumbass!"

"Then who the hell is!?" she spat back at him, rounding on him with her eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Why do you care!?"

"I don't!"

With that said, Ino turned to continue stomping off and Naruto began shouting indignantly at her retreating form. "My perfect person is a total bitch, always yelling and arguing with me over really stupid shit! And she's totally stubborn and a spoiled brat! And when she doesn't get what she wants from me, she uses this cheap jutsu to force my body into submission, which would actually make for some hot sex but—"

Ino whirled around on him again. "I can't believe you have the audacity to go around causing Kakashi-sensei and Jiraiya-sama perverts when you're just as bad as they are," she interjected with her fists resting on her hips agitatedly.

"And she never fails to tell me when I'm being a pervert," Naruto continued without missing a beat, "Though that makes her a total hypocrite 'cause we both know she was thinking the exact same thing."

"That may be true, but I'm none of those other things," Ino argued.

"Well, then who says I was talking about you?" Naruto shot back childishly.

Ino raised an eyebrow, "Oh? I never thought of Forehead as the kinky type."

"Me neither," Naruto admitted, having been successfully derailed from his previous train of thought. "You think she'd be up for a threesome?" he added contemplatively, which quickly earned him a hard punch to the gut.

"If you're done being a pervert, I'll just be leaving," she deadpanned as she turned back around.

"Wait! I'm not done yet!" Naruto ran around so that he was in front of her, effectively blocking her progress from the field.

"You have more perverted dribble?" she asked scathingly.

"No! Well, maybe… I'm not done saying what I came to say!" Naruto replied.

"Then say it already!" Ino bit out.

"I can't just _say_ it, though."

"Why not?"

"It's one of those things where you have to wait for the perfect moment," Naruto tried to explain.

Ino stood waiting for him to continue, tapping her foot impatiently. "I don't have all day, you know."

"Gah!" Naruto exploded, "You're totally ruining the ambiance!"

"What the hell are you talking about!?"

"The mood! You're totally screwing it up! The perfect moment could have been ten seconds ago, but you had to go and make it an unperfect moment!"

"Will you just spit it out already!?" Ino growled.

"Does this seem like a perfect moment to you!?" Naruto demanded in reply.

"Naruto!"

Naruto looked like he was about to pull his hair out in frustration as he yelled, "I love you, dammit!"

The shocked silence that followed his confession grew more and more uncomfortable steadily as Ino gaped at him. "Don't feel like you have to respond or anything," he muttered sheepishly, looking to the side.

"I—I—" Ino stuttered. _I know. And I--_

"You really don't have to say anything," Naruto cut in with a reassuring smile. "Relax. I just…needed to tell you. And I wanted to say, that I'll be here for you, no matter what."

Ino suddenly came crashing back down from floating in the clouds as the ridiculousness of his statement struck her. "No matter what?" she repeated incredulously. "What about missions? You can't just quit taking them to look after me and a baby. And then what if something happens to you on a mission? What'll I do then?"

"Nothing'll happen to me, I promise."

"Don't make promises that you can't keep!" Ino ordered.

"Besides," he continued, ignoring her interruption, "I've been thinking about taking on a genin team anyway. That would keep me around the village most of the time and away from the really dangerous missions…probably."

"But what about—"

"Stop with the technicalities, will you?" Naruto beseeched with a slight frown. "Everything will be fine. Trust me. And stop worrying about that 'real' family thing. Ever since I was a kid, I've always wanted to have a real, flesh and blood family. But I only want to have one if it's with you 'cause you're my perfect match. You're my only one, Ino."

Ino ducked her down as a blush crept up her cheeks. "If I have this baby," she began firmly, "no matter what—I don't care if you're in the middle of Snow Country, on the brink of death with no hope of making it back—you have to swear that you'll always come back. I can't do this alone."

"Cross my heart and hope to die."

"Naruto!"

Naruto laughed lightly. "I promise," he said with a wide, honest smile. And then he kissed her because the sun was setting just behind her and the light was making her glow ethereally and she was smiling beautifully and he just felt like he _should_ because it just seemed like the _perfect moment._

She didn't pull away. In fact, she leaned into him and kissed him just as passionately as he was kissing her and Naruto knew that that was _the _perfect moment where nothing else existed—there was just him and Ino and their baby, just him and his family.

* * *

"So what are we going to name it?" Naruto asked as they made there way back toward the village with his arm looped around Ino's waist. "I've always been partial to Ramen."

Ino punched his shoulder not-so-lightly. "That's not a name, baka."

"It can be if I say so," he retorted and stuck his tongue out at her childishly.

Ino shook her head exasperatedly and looked forward toward the bright lights that were being lit along the streets as the sun continued to set. "Naruto?" she asked softly, still looking straight ahead.

"Yeah?"

"I love you too, just so you know," she confessed, glancing at him out of the corner of her eyes with a teasing smile. The next thing she knew, she was pinned against a nearby tree and Naruto was kissing her in that way that she absolutely loved—that way that made her knees turn to jelly and her mind go completely blank and her heart pound against her ribcage painfully.

They pulled apart for a breather and Ino found herself wondering if they were ever going to make it back into the village at this rate but not really caring anyway because the cloud of confusion that had been muddling her head since she found out she was pregnant and all her doubts were finally gone. She knew what she was going to do now. She was going to have this baby and start a family with Naruto. And she finally knew what she and Naruto were. They were in love. And as far as she was concerned, that was the best label in the world.

**Fin.**

_I had no choice but to hear you_

_You stated your case time and again_

_I thought about it_

_Your love is thick and it swallowed me whole_

_You're so much braver than I gave you credit for_

_That's not lip service_

_You're the best listener that I've ever met_

_You're my best friend_

_Best friend with benefits_

_What took me so long_

_I've never felt this healthy before_

_I've never wanted something rational_

_I am aware now_

_I am aware now_

_You've already won me over in spite of me_

_And don't be alarmed if I fall head over feet_

_Don't be surprised if I love you for all that you are_

_I couldn't help it_

_It's all your fault _

**  
-**selected lyrics from "Head Over Feet" by Alanis Morisette

**A/N: Hmm…it got awfully sappy there at the end. –cringes- I can't believe I actually wrote all that. Someone shoot me now, please. Anyway, yeah, that's the end. But then again, not really. This is like the fic that never ends, as it seems. I just keep getting more and more ideas for what to write, so…once this fic has accumulated…say, 50 more reviews, I'll start posting a sequel. So, if you would like to see a sequel, review! And if you have any ideas or requests for what should happen with Naruto and Ino, please share! Well, that's about it.**

**Ciao!**

**mH**


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